A Shared Process

Jessi White, Vice President of Dealer Services, Iowa Automobile Dealers Association

The Iowa Automobile Dealers Association (IADA) is over 100 years old. We preserve, protect and increase the value of the motor vehicle franchise system and provide support, best-practice guidance and services to all member dealerships. I’m in the dealerships, working with them on title and registration issues, compliance issues and more. I am hearing firsthand about the struggles dealers and customers face with the systems and laws Iowa has in place.

Our board consists of dealership owners who guide the association’s direction. One of the topics we focused on was simplifying and expediting the title and registration process. We realized there wasn’t a specific lien-perfection date in place. This understanding motivated us to help develop legislation to create a more efficient process.

IADA collaborated with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and various partners and stakeholders to conduct a survey on how electronic registration and title (ERT) and electronic lien and title (ELT) systems would operate in Iowa before passing legislation to implement them. And I’ll say this over and over again: You have to get all stakeholders together to work through this process. After all, what we see in advocating for dealers is going to be a little different from the DOT’s, county’s or lenders’ perspectives. Ultimately, we built a system that achieved our goal of moving documents and payments more efficiently for all partners involved.

“Working with state dealer associations can be very impactful. … We’re here to be a supportive resource and work together.”
Jessi White, Vice President of Dealer Services, Iowa Automobile Dealers Association

Iowa is also undergoing a modernization at the DOT that is scheduled to wrap up in 2028, eventually allowing for e-titling and a paperless system, which is exciting. Change can be hard, but we have taken baby steps with the ERT system to reach these next steps, with ERT showing it is a very successful program for the state. E-titling will enable a more secure way to transfer customer data and titles electronically, helping Iowa to reduce fraud and enhance data security.

We have made great progress to reach our current stage, learning valuable lessons about what is necessary for modernization and e-titling. We have the right stakeholders involved in this process, which is crucial. If you’re looking to start the e-titling process, ensuring that all stakeholders are engaged is essential for creating a system that is broadly supported.

Working with state dealer associations can be very impactful. We’re not here to be in the way. We’re here to be a supportive resource and work together. Before ERT, there was a disconnect in Iowa, and these projects have brought all partners together to strengthen their relationships and improve processes and systems. I will explain that to other dealer associations when they ask how Iowa has been successful in the process—you need to hear about your state or jurisdiction’s challenges in implementing this process and what their concerns are. The state association can help find solutions, including working with legislators and finding resources.

Getting the Ball Rolling

Tony Hall, Head of Policy, DMV and Industry Affairs, Carvana

There is such a wide range in where states are in their modernization journey. Until relatively recently, there has been a lot of hope that states will take the initiative and move the ball forward. And there’s probably been more that’s happened in the e-title space in the last three or so years than in the prior two decades.

But sometimes you need a little external pressure to accelerate development. COVID was an initial catalyst in highlighting how inefficient paper-based processes are. However, recent movement has been from the industry side to accelerate the needed changes, including legislatively.

Driving efficiency—reducing friction for customers—is core to Carvana’s business model. We’re doing things at such a large scale that seconds really matter, especially when we’re selling over half a million cars a year.

One of the more surprising things to me is that despite the many competitors in this space, everyone is working together to advance this cause. Carvana’s not here to sell a product solution to any of these DMVs. We’re just trying to improve the title and registration experience for consumers and the industry. It eases the conversation for us, so we can go to the DMV and say, “Hey, we want to pursue this legislation. How does this work for you?” Then, once the legislation exists, the competitive process can take its normal course.

“The first thing that every state could do even today—and it’s going to sound almost overly simplistic—is authorize electronic signatures.”
Tony Hall, Head of Policy, DMV and Industry Affairs, Carvana

You have to be structured in how you approach title and registration modernization, which includes e-titling. You can’t go to a state and say, “I want you to do full-fledged state-to-state e-titles without a paper-based process” when they’re on a legacy system that is 30 or 40 years old. Their tech just isn’t built for it. And that is often a DMV’s position: having to modernize core systems before they can add other bells and whistles.

Having worked for the Texas DMV for more than 10 years, I can certainly relate. Plus, you’re often competing for limited IT resources, minimal funding and other priorities.

But that doesn’t mean a DMV can’t take action. The first thing that every state could do even today—and it’s going to sound almost overly simplistic—is authorize electronic signatures, which only 12 or so states currently do. If a state is still paper-reliant, you can make a policy decision to safely and securely roll out a procedure that allows consumers to use e-signatures. That’s low-hanging fruit that can make meaningful progress and also sends a message that your jurisdiction is willing to make processes more efficient for its constituents.

Ultimately, you could ask 10 different people when we’re going to reach critical mass on e-titles and inevitably get 10 different answers. Consider NMVTIS, the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. It was mandated by the federal government in the mid-1990s, yet the last state, Hawaii, joined only this year. Is an e-title solution going to take that long? Hopefully not. But what history tells us is that it could take a long time, and there are many competing priorities. We want to be a resource and have a seat at the table as progress unfolds.

I believe there will be meaningful advancements before this decade is over. It’s going to be an evolving process with constraints that everyone will have to work around. On the industry side, we just want to support accelerated progress. If you need resources, we will go to the legislature to secure additional staff or budget. If you need legislation, we’ll talk with lawmakers. That’s the role of industry: to provide that momentum.

The E-anything World

Beth Caro, President and CEO, National Independent Vehicle Title Agents Organization

We launched our organization, NIVTA, in March 2024. Our organization was launched at the request to support a third-party community that can’t attend all the meetings or conferences because they’re running their businesses. Many of these small businesses are owner-operators and serve rural communities as an extension of their Departments of Motor Vehicles. Our goal is to mimic some of what other national associations have done to support their state-level associations.

Having been in this industry for nearly 30 years, I felt it was important to create a space to highlight jurisdictional updates, changes and best practices. There’s so much changing every day: fees, document requirements and processing changes for vehicle titles and registrations to be completed.

With e-titling and other new processes, the best thing we can do is work together. All these different associations, organizations, jurisdictions and governments play a role. This is not a time to push anybody out; we all have great information to bring to the table for problem-solving and discussion.

With how quickly these processes and policies are changing, it’s important to meet in person, too. We’re going through big changes to adopt as much “e-anything” as we can. Being in person helps get these problems solved quickly.

There’s been a massive effect on small businesses and the dealership brick-and-mortar communities. Almost daily, I see news articles about another dealership or agency closing. And a lot of them have been family-owned for decades. They’re closing because they can’t get the titles processed that they need to satisfy the buyer and retail a vehicle. It’s really sad to see. Some just don’t understand the process, and they’re getting in trouble in places that could be avoided with education and proper guidance.

So, time is of the utmost importance in all of the work we’re doing. Everyone must come together to ensure these updates are completed. I remind our title processors in this sector of the community that, when we’re dealing with things that are fraud-related, if we don’t do our due diligence, it could have drastic consequences—for consumers and organizations alike.

I think a lot of what we’re mapping out with e-titling is not only to solve the dealership challenges and the challenges of how we’re interacting with the public to get their credentials resolved or produced, but also to take advantage of an opportune time to address many of the challenges residents face. We have residents who are homebound, have severe illnesses or are in predicaments where they can’t necessarily get to a DMV. The more we can remind ourselves we’re all serving the same end user, the better we can function together.

I also feel like, since the pandemic, everyone has had an identity fraud case. Efforts like tying in identity verifications into the e-titling provide a more fluid process for all of us involved in verifying information, and something we all need to embrace.